Surf Rock’s 1st wave
The Dick Dale Signature Stratocaster is part of a long standing relationship between the man and the brand.
As a young virtuoso, The King of The Surf Guitar was identified by Leo Fender as someone he wanted seen holding his guitars. Even if Dale played them upside down. We’re talking late 50s before the Brits arrived on the US east coast and stole the heart of America’s youth. Rock ‘n’ roll was just approaching it’s first decade of existence and the electric guitar was being pushed into new extremes of loud. Fender and Gibson saw what was happening and like adidas and Nike court athletes to wear their shoes, the guitar manufacturers courted musicians to play their six strings. Dale’s contribution went way beyond the average product endorsement. In many ways, he was to Fender what Les Paul was to Gibson.
Armed with his Stratocaster, Dale pioneered a sound that would become know as Surf Rock. The first guitarist to embrace reverb, it was a tool that allowed him to create the wet guitar sound he was looking for. It was the sound that Dale heard while riding waves on the coast of California. To be clear, we are talking about instrumental Surf Rock here, where the guitar plays the melody. Fans of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction will recognize Miserlou. This isn’t Beach Boys surf, we’re talking The Ventures, The Surftones and Dick Dale and The Deltones. Brian Wilson used Surf as a flavour, while Dick Dale was trying to capture its essence.
Dales contributions to the hardware of rock ‘n’ roll extends beyond the six-string. A fan of decibels, Dale would blow out Fender amps on a regular basis turning himself into a testing ground for Leo Fender.
Another major contribution to his sound came from the fact that Dale was a self-taught lefty. Like many left-handed players (see Hendrix) he flipped his Strat, basically playing it upside down. Unlike most however, Dale didn’t bother to restring. Watch him play Miserlou back in the day and you’ll see that he is picking the low E, A and D from the bottom. Even after Dale became a Fender asset and was given a left-handed Stratocaster, he continued to string his guitars in this fashion.
The Fender Custom Shop Dick Dale Signature Stratocaster seems to come strung in a traditional fashion so points lost there. Other than that it’s a sweet beast created in the image of Dale’s favourite Strat. Specifics include a flipped head stock, 3 vintage 50s pick ups and a custom volume switch.
Given the fact that he created a musical genre you’d think that Dick Dale would be living in a mansion soaking his rock and roll feet in a Strat shaped pool. Not true. Today Dale tours not only because he loves it, but, sadly, also because he’s trying to pay medical bills.
So like go out and buy his records, his guitar and catch him live if you’re lucky enough to get a chance.